The salt parable

A young man called Sretaketu had studied the Vedas for twelve years and was rather full of himself. His father, Uddalaka, asked him a question which he was unable to answer, and then proceeded to teach him a lesson about the fundamental truth of which he was entirely ignorant. He told his son to put a piece of salt into water and report back to him the following morning When his father asked him to produce the salt, Sretaketu could not find it because it had completely dissolved. Uddalaka began to question him:
“Would you please sip it at this end? What is it like?” he said.
“Salt.”
“Sip it in the middle. What is it like?”
“Salt.”
“Sip it at the far end. What is it like?”
“Salt.”
“Throw it away and then come to me.”
He did as he was told but [that did not stop the salt from] remaining the same.
[His father] said to him: “My dear child, it is true that you cannot perceive Being here, but it is equally true that it is here. This first essence–the whole universe has as its Self: That is the Real: That is the Self: that you are, Sretaketu!”